Posted by Joshua on Monday, July 7th, 2008

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian authorities said on Sunday they had restored order at a military jail near Damascus after a riot, but dissidents said the protest was not over and that dozens of prisoners had been killed.

The riot broke out on Saturday at Sidnaya prison, a huge complex 30 km (19 miles) northwest of the capital Damascus that houses thousands of criminals, political prisoners and soldiers convicted of violating military rules.

"Several prisoners convicted of extremism and terror crimes created chaos… The issue required the interference of anti-riot units to restore calm," the Syrian state news agency said.

The agency did not say whether there were any casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organisation based in London, said Syrian security forces had killed dozens of prisoners during the riot.

The Observatory said Islamist prisoners, many of whom have been held at Sidnaya for years without trial, started the riot. It quoted witnesses as saying a hospital was filled with the wounded.

Syrian dissidents based in Beirut said prisoners were still rioting and that security forces remained heavily deployed around the prison and the hospital.

The Kurdish Coordination Committee, an umbrella group of Kurdish opposition parties in Syria, said the prisoners were only demanding better living condition.

"Syrian prisons are among the worse in the world. We do not think the demands of the protestors exceeded asking for better conditions and other humanitarian demands," a statement by the group said.

Syria, which has been ruled by the secular Baath Party since 1963, holds thousands of Islamists and other political prisoners, including writers and human rights advocates. International human rights groups say random arrests and torture are common.

The Baath Party, which put down an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1982 in the city of Hama, has shown limited tolerance toward Islamists in recent years, with Washington accusing the Damascus government of allowing Islamist fighters to infiltrate into Iraq from Syria.

"The Americans had spies in Iran until they were rounded up in 2003 and now they do not have much by way of humint [human intelligence] on the ground. The Israelis have better information. But the Americans went away from the meetings unconvinced that the Israelis have enough intelligence on where to strike, and with little confidence that they will be able to destroy the nuclear programme."

July 6 (Bloomberg) — Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora may announce the country's new cabinet as early as tomorrow after the country's political factions agreed on the distribution of portfolios in the new government, his top adviser said. "We are now talking about the details of the portfolios and the names'' of the people who will head the ministries, Mohammad Shateh said in a telephone interview from Beirut today. Siniora may form the government “as early as tomorrow or Tuesday,'' he added…..

Israel has been reluctant to withdraw from the Golan [Sunday Telegraph] because of its strategic position above Syria, while many Israelis have been so taken with its wild beauty that they have built wineries and boutique hotels. The Golan front has also been quiet for years, providing little incentive to resolve the conflict.

"The Golan Heights is considered our Tuscany. Israelis fell in love with the Golan – and it's a very easy conflict for us. That's why it's so difficult to convince Israel to withdraw," Mr Liel said.

Syria, which demands the return of all of Golan, has promised to allow Israelis to continue to enter the western part without visas, though the future of Israeli businesses and towns there is uncertain.

More seriously, the Golan provides more than half of Israel's drinking water and in this year of drought, the biblical Sea of Galilee – known in Israel as Lake Kinneret – is already at dangerously low levels, making Israel reluctant to give it up.

But Turkey is already said to have promised to supply more water to Syria, and possibly to the rest of the region, by drawing on the Euphrates, Tigris or Seyhan rivers. Syria has also demanded the building of a desalination plant in exchange for letting Israel continue to draw drinking water from the Golan. …

"…Alon Liel, a former director of Israel's foreign ministry, said the prospect of a peace agreement with Syria was growing, though it might require a new American president before a deal could be agreed…

"They are asking not only for the Golan Heights but a change in Washington that will break the Syrian isolation internationally," said Mr Liel. "But I also think they will not do it unless they are assured they have an alternative to Iran."

Congress Delivers Promised Israel Aid Bump Despite Budget Deadlock

By Nathan Guttman

While almost all federally financed programs were denied any funding increase for the coming year, aid to Israel from the United States will increase thanks to a legislative loophole and some deft maneuvering by pro-Israel lobbyists.

Western isolation has forced Syria increasingly to look eastwards for its economic future. As the country pushes through much-needed reforms, Bashar al-Assad, the president, is focusing on links with rising economic powers such as India and China."

Even as Syria is looking to restore ties with the west, reflected in improved diplomatic relations with France, a forthcoming Assad trip to Paris and renewed peace talks with Israel, Damascus has been careful to foster its relations with other powers.

Mr Assad travelled to India last month, the first time a Syrian leader has visited the country in 30 years.

Safi Shujaa, director of the Syrian Economic Centre, says that "Syria is going seriously to the east", citing international political isolation from the west and economic advantages from the east as the main motivations for the shift.

This decision has taken place even as the country undergoes urgent economic reform in the face of a -stagnant economy and dwindling oil revenues. In recent years Syria has liberalised foreign trade, dropping tariffs and import restrictions, and introduced a more favourable investment climate seeking greater foreign capital for the budding -private sector.

Liu Bo, a commercial attaché at the Chinese embassy in Damascus, says that these reforms have been directly responsible for the increased Chinese engagement. He says that exports to Syria increased by 37 per cent in 2007, while China has pumped $741.52m (€472.5m, £374m) of investment into the country…..

DAMASCUS, July 3 (Xinhua) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that his country would intensify efforts to regain the Palestinian unity, the official SANA news agency reported. Assad made the remarks while meeting with the politburo leader of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, Khaled Meshaal. Syria supports the Palestinian negotiating stance and the return of their legitimate rights, on top the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, Assad asserted.

Meshaal thanked Assad for the aid offered by Syria to the Palestinian people and its efforts to regain unity among the Palestinians and lift the siege imposed on Gaza, SANA reported.

ANALYSIS / Is Syria usurping Egypt’s role in the Palestinian conflict?

By Zvi Bar’el

Tags: Hamas, Syria, Mahmoud Abbas

“When we come to Syria we are coming to our second country,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Syrian President Bashar Assad flatteringly when the two met in Damascus on Sunday. This “homecoming” was initiated by Assad, who recently stepped up his involvement in the Palestinian arena – at Egypt’s expense.

During his two-day visit, Abbas is expected to meet with several leaders of Palestinian factions, with the exception of Hamas politburo chief, Khaled Meshal. The meetings appear to be part of a broader Syrian effort to bring rival Hamas and Fatah closer to national reconciliation. Last Thursday, Assad met with Meshal and after Abbas’ visit to the Syrian capital, another Fatah delegation is due to engage in a dialogue with Hamas.

Assad is competing in an arena which Egypt monopolized, until recently. However, the Egyptians have so far been reluctant in their involvement: They have avoided inviting rival Palestinian factions to Cairo to a joint meeting, in spite of supporting the reconciliation efforts. Apparently Egypt is concerned that such a meeting, without proper preparation, may end in failure, and that the damage may be very difficult to repair. Syria, by comparison, believes that it wields leverage vis-a-vis Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and that its political “dialogue” with Israel excludes it from the group of those being boycotted – therefore allowing Abbas to visit Damascus without provoking Washington’s ire.
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Assad, who is scheduled to participate early next week in the Euro-Mediterranean conference in Paris, would like to arrive with two successes under his belt. The first is the forming of a new Lebanese government; the second is the beginning of a Palestinian national reconciliation. With two such achievements, in addition to the start of talks with Israel, Syria is hoping to pave its way out of the American “axis of evil,” while emphasizing to the Arab states that it is a central player, still capable of fulfilling a role that countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia have so far found difficult to play.

Palestinian reconciliation has become a central element in the media dialogue between Hamas and Fatah. In early June Abbas announced his initiative to bring about such a process, which could then lead to Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections. The basic precondition of the Palestinian leader is that the situation in the Gaza Strip be restored to that existing prior to the Hamas takeover in June 2007.

Hamas, which is not opposed to this principle, is asking that any deal be applicable to a broader framework: It wants a reconciliation agreement to include the “recognition of democratic processes” – which means that Abbas will recognize the outcome of the January 2006 elections in which Hamas won an overwhelming majority. In addition, an accord would include creation of an interim, national unity government that will prepare the ground for free elections in the Palestine Liberation Organization, where all factions will participate – including Hamas, for the first time – under the assumption that Hamas will win a majority and carry out both a structural and an ideological revolution in its organization. The agreement is also supposed to call for unifying the Palestinian security organizations, dividing up control over them on the basis of the relative size of the political groups involved, and ending the media war that Fatah is conducting against Hamas.

If the sort of reconciliation that Syria is putting forth does emerge, and an interim unity government is established, Israel may be faced with an old dilemma: Should it recognize such government and establish a working relationship with it – or adopt, anew, the policy of boycotting such a government, and thus bring the talks with Mahmoud Abbas to a standstill?

I would think for the Syrian prisoners to stage this kind of a revolt, they must have reached a breaking point. This is a disgraceful and will tarnish Assad’s trip to France if it escalates more …. God help them form the viciousness and brutality of the regime revenges…
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Syria jail revolt inmates fear police assault: rights group
7 July 2008
Agence France Presse
The prisoners who staged a revolt in a Syrian jail fear the security forces will mount a deadly assault, a human rights group said on Monday.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is close to the opposition, says at least 25 people have already been killed since the riots broke out on Saturday.

“The prisoners continued their revolt on Monday but they have freed all those being held hostage, as a goodwill gesture,” the Observatory said in a statement received in Nicosia that quoted a spokesman for the inmates.

The spokesman warned that “a massacre could be committed if the security forces carry out their threat and launch an assault” on the prison in Saydnaya, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the Syrian capital.

Police have pulled back from the facility and patrols are keeping relatives of prisoners at a distance, the rights group said, citing witnesses.

On Sunday, Syrian authorities blamed inmates for provoking the riots in one of the country’s largest prisons, also used for political detainees, without clarifying if order had been restored.

“Prisoners sentenced for crimes of terrorism and extremism caused trouble… in Saydnaya prison. They attacked their comrades during a prison inspection,” the state news agency SANA said.

According to the Observatory, the deaths came as military police fired live bullets at Islamist inmates who rioted after a raid by prison guards. About 400 detained soldiers were taken hostage, it said.

According to a Lebanon-based Syrian political activist, the detainees were willing to surrender if the interior minister pledged they would not be killed or tortured.

One inmate told the BBC’s Arabic service that the guards had treated the prisoners roughly during raids and desecrated copies of the Koran.

Syria has cracked down on dissidents in recent months, drawing strong criticism from the West particularly since the arrests are being carried out under emergency laws in force since 1963.

Saydnaya prison was built in 1987 to accommodate 5,000 inmates but has been used to take up to 10,000, according to the Syrian Human Rights Committee.

In 2004, it held several hundred Muslim Brothers as well as leftists, Palestinians, Islamist militants and detained Syrian soldiers, according to the rights group.

Excellent interview, balanced, diplomatic and pragmatic.. The french will jump in the wagon to regain some influences and business in the region, in Iran for example as Iraq is a private hunting ground for the USA 🙂

Surprise! Barbara Walters visits an anti-American dictator and returns with very nice remarks about him. Returning from the week long break on “The View” July 7, Barbara Walters described how she spent America’s birthday, and the celebration of a document denouncing tyranny, with an anti-American tyrant.

While most Americans celebrated Independence Day with fireworks and barbeques, Barbara Walters spent the occasion dining with Syrian leader Bashir al-Assad, whom Walters described as “intelligent” and “charming” who wants “very much to have good relations with us.” Perhaps realizing her own gushiness about Assad Walters pre-empted accusations and denied she is “brainwashed.”

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The veteran journalist began by noting Syria remains on the State Departments terrorism list because “they are against the war in Iraq.” While she did note Syria’s support for Hamas and Hezbollah, she described them simply as “two groups that we consider unfriendly in Israel.” She did not note the many suicide bombings targeting innocent civilians those groups support.

Barbara Walters boasted of a “total freedom of religion” in the despotic state. The non-partisan international watchdog Freedom House, however finds that although it allows a certain degree of religious freedom, certainly more than many Islamic states, it’s far from “total freedom of religion.”

“Although the Constitution requires that the president be a Muslim, there is no state religion in Syria, and freedom of worship is generally respected. However, all nonworship meetings of religious groups require permits, and religious fundraising is closely scrutinized. The Alawite minority dominates the officer corps of the military and security forces. The government tightly monitors mosques and controls appointment of Muslim clergy.”

Walters added, Syria is “considered a dictatorship.” Just “considered?” Freedom House also rated Syria as “not free” with a “downward trend arrow due to the authorities’ suppression of opposition activities.” While conceding she is “not saying this is…a perfect place,” Walters advocated more dialogue with the totalitarian regime.

Although Walters claimed she went on this trip on her own, without the direction of ABC, it is not unprecedented for ABC News to demonstrate sympathy for Bashir al-Assad. “Good Morning America’s” Diane Sawyer pressed Assad on his favorite movies.

BARBARA WALTERS: Doesn’t everybody when they have a vacation go to Syria?

GOLDBERG: Absolutely. Now, you know, we-

WALTERS: Some people go to the Hamptons. Some people, you know, take a vacation in North-

JOY BEHAR: How are Syrians to Jewish Americans these days?

WALTERS: Okay, well let me- Syria is, is an amazing country. It is not at all what I expected.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK: Did you think, did you have apprehension before you left?

WALTERS: Everybody said to me “are you going to be afraid?” “Will you walk the streets?” I’ve never felt safer.

SHEPHERD: You had a body guard?

WALTERS: I had no body guard. No, I’m serious. I had no body guard. I went everywhere. It is, let me-

GOLDBERG: So where does this misconception come from that Syria’s an issue?

WALTERS: Well, first of all the country is on our terrorist list. They are against the war in Iraq, the president of Syria, who’s name is Bashir al-Assad. I’ll tell you more about him in a minute. They objected to the war in Iraq. And they are neighbors and friends of Iran. The enemy of my enemy is my enemy or whatever- the friend of my enemy is my enemy. And they are friendly with both Hamas and Hezbollah who are two groups that we consider unfriendly groups in Israel. So in other words, they have friends who are not friends of ours. They have also been accused of allowing people and terrorists to cross the border into Iraq. They say they do not do that and they haven’t and they’ve really cut down on it. They have a million and a quarter Iraqi refugees in their country whom they have to take care of. Okay, that’s the political. They want very much to have good relations with us. Let me just, before I talk about the country because I just mentioned them, show you the young president and a picture of them because we had a very long lunch together. Now-

GOLDBERG: They look like they should be in the Hamptons.

WALTERS: Let me tell you, he, Assad, was the- his father- was for many many years the dominant ruler in, in Syria. Henry Kissinger used to go over and negotiate. This is his son Bashir Assad. People said, “oh he’s just a puppet.” From my experience, he was a very intelligent, a well informed, thoughtful, he spoke perfect English, wants very much to have relations with this country, has some solutions for ending the war in Iraq. She was educated in England, worked in this country, speaks English the way I’m talking to you, lovely, intelligent. I don’t want you to say- people say “oh you’re brainwashed.” But that was not it. They just were very charming and intelligent. She has a cooperative, a group teaching children to be entrepreneurs with Harvard University, was raised in England, worked in this country. So this is not what we expected in terms of the leaders.

[…]

WALTERS: They have total freedom of religion because it’s a Christian, Muslim, there are not very many Jews there. Remember, they had the whole situation with the Golan Heights, which I visited, which is a section occupied now by Israel, which the Syrians want back and there are discussions now to try to get it back. Look, there are still things, it is considered a dictatorship, we still do not know what they’re relationship is with Iran, there are other problems I’m not saying that this is, you know the perfect place. What I am saying is we need to know more about it and more about its leaders and have more conversation.

[…]

WALTERS: Okay, so I’ll just tell you real quickly how it happened. I had dinner one night with the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations. Most of the ambassadors to the United Nations, I think they all sort of see each other. They don’t move around. This is a very impressive man, invited me to dinner one night, and then, and with a charming wife, fine, and then said- that’s neither here nor there- and then said “would you like to come to Syria?” I’ve been there once before to meet Mrs. Assad. I had been there several years ago. And he said they would be very happy to meet with you if you wanted to meet with them. So on my own, this had nothing to do with ABC, I went with a friend and thought “you know what? It’s either South Hampton or Damascus.” South Hampton, Damascus, South Hampton, Damascus.

GOLDBERG: And it’s with the same people.

[…]

WALTERS: I left my headline for the end, which is “The View” is seen everyday in Syria. Everyone knew us!

BEHAR: We love your scarves. We love your scarves!

[applause]

[…]

WALTERS: But I do want to say before they say “oh yeah she goes over and she meets the president.” We have problems. We do not like the fact that they support Hamas and Hezbollah. Without giving you a history lesson, these are organizations that want the destruction of Israel. They are friends with Iran and Ahmadinejad. This is a man who wants the destruction and have Israel erased. Their feeling is-

BEHAR: Ahmadinejad does.

WALTERS: Ahmadinejad does. They’re feeling is these are our neighbors, you have to have relations, et cetera. They lost the war in 1948.

BEHAR: They are for diplomacy, which is what Barack Obama’s preaching.

Wow… that’s kind of an embarassing interview. “Bashir Assad”?! And, Hamas/Hizbullah are considered “unfriendly” in Israel??

The Zionist media is going to eat her for lunch.

Nour,

The “delay” is about the LF nursing its wounds. Although, I do think it is a little bit disingenuous to talk about “the disagreements within M14 that are delaying the formation of the government,” when the government essentially had to sit on its hands and wait for al-General to throw a 5 WEEK long pity party that got him nowhere.

Geagea wants a bone. They’ll probably throw him something. I’m hoping he gets the Justice Ministry, just so that the farce is complete.

This is the essence of your bias. I would be willing to bet that had it been the other way around, and let’s say Geagea agreed with the opposition over certain ministries after a 5-week process, only to be followed by an objection from Aoun, you would be all over Aoun, attacking him for just wanting to hinder the entire procedure. Would I be wrong?

I’m on record criticizing the M14ers when they’ve made stupid and cynical moves. For example, I’m totally opposed to Saniora leading the new cabinet. I thought M14 wasted many months with their refusal to give the opposition a veto. And I do think that Saad al-Hariri has no business being in politics.

Come on, Nour, Aoun’s behavior during the past five weeks has been totally embarrassing, even to his allies. First his insistence on the sovereign ministry (which pissed off Berri). Then his attempt to curtail the powers of the PM (which pissed off even the old stalwarts like Hoss and Karami). Even the opposition-friendly outlets (like al-Akhbar) were carrying reports about Hizbullah and AMAL being none too pleased with his demands.

The guy has a Napoleon complex, and baddo yrabbi7na jmeeleh because a different General Michel got to be president instead of him.

If they love so much ‘Bashir’ Asad we would be glad to send him to Tel Aviv in exchange of freedom for the tolerant and civilized people of Syria.After Morroco , Egypt…..Sudan is very close to rise above us in their GDP /Capita.30 years ago we were ahead of SOUTH KOREA(yes South ,the country of Samsung and LG) …In the field of Human right and human dignity …no need a lot of words….the reality is known for all.

1. Lets see if if the Syrian Authorities can capitalise on the Jail riot and turn it into another famous Syrian Soapie in Time for Ramadan: “Prison Break” Syrian Style, Il help market the film.

2.Bashar goes To Paris to celebrate Bastille day as guest of Honour ( The prodigal Syrian Son returns to Mother France’s embrace after being a “good Boy” (enlightened wipes away tears from emotion and relief)

3. The Israeli/Hezbollah prisoner swap. Hezbollah gets back a child killer, a few captives, dead bodies and possibly the Shebaa in the future. Israel gets back its two soldiers , information on Arad. (Enlightened is not being callous here but will invite Sayed Hassan to be his partner in his next game of Arbahmiyeh. (400)

4. Syria Looks East, now that it has secured its interests in the West! (Lebanon) its feuding cousins next door will not turn the mountains into a Hatfield and MaCoy feud.

5. The IAE investigating team concludes that the bombed Syrian reactor was really a Hummus factory and a Zionist plot is uncovered to saturate the Syrian market with Zionist Hummus. (enlightened asks shai to send him some to Australia to taste)

6. Syrian/Isreali negotiation over the Golan reach another stumbling block. Isreali negotiators tell the Syrians its the Israeli version of the Hamptons and they don’t want to give it up.

7. Syrian Private Universities ask for Book donations, after a 6 year vetting process for approval by the Baath Party.

8. More Iran, and Iran, and again Iran, Iran oh hell GWB just bomb the place and put us all out of our collective misery.

9. The price of Oil, Gas, wheat, everything is going up and up and up, and up, and up ( enlightened feeling nauseus, will come back tomorrow)

Why discuss: in Iran for example as Iraq is a private hunting ground for the USA

Iran is already full of french companies ….they have transferred their old car factories of Peugeot and Citroen to Iran ,Total has a big share in the oil industry.Dont forget that Khomaini was under the protection of France before his return to Iran.
Why discuss ,are you marxist ?

Come on, Nour, Aoun’s behavior during the past five weeks has been totally embarrassing, even to his allies.

Embarrassing or not he got results which are infuriating Geagea and the other “has been” christians leaders eaten by jealousy. Geagea has been ironizing, disparaging Aoun and he got a deaf ear. Now he is showing “magnanimity” in offering to renounce any ministry, “for the sake of Unity” . If Aoun is a Napoleon at least he is expanding the power of reasonable christians while Geagea and the other maronites leaders, especially the pathetic Dory Chamoun, torn by their jealousy and impotence have brought only divisions and frustrations.
Aoun is a stubborn old men, Churchill was the same. What counts are results, and we are seeing them. The formal agreement with Hezbollah was one of the most brilliant and constructive move in Lebanon in recent political history and that it is starting to show positive results. In the meantime, the loose and pompous “agreement” between the 14 mars people is showing cracks, despite their denials. Thank God there is now an arbiter, Sleiman, and Siniora is starting to improve his performance to become an acceptable PM. He was the right choice to assure some sort of continuity when the whole 14 march movement is collapsing.

It is true that France has investments in car factories in Iran, but their involvement on other industries and imports is minimal especially Gas, Oil, Nuclear. The big oil US companies are agressively invading Iraq (starting with Kurdistan) and the special relationship with the US will prevent any other country to touch these huge ressources. France had very big industrial investments in Iraq during Saddam (Osirak was french), now they won’t get any significant business there..
Iran represents a major business opportunity for France, and Sarkozy, very business oriented, will take any chance to put his hands on it before the US change its mind. I see his flirting with Bashar, among other motivations, as a way to use Syria as a bridge to Iran.
No, I am not marxist 🙂

I’m not trying to defend Aoun, but I’m showing that hindrances in government formation are caused by many factors. And each one can be explained in any number of ways. Aoun’s insistence on what you termed “embarassing” behavior could be interpreted as merely an attempt to get the best deal possible. He was upping the ante, not with the expectation of gaining what he was initially demanding, but in an effort to secure positions that would not have otherwise been granted to him. However, you chose to give it a more negative interpretation, charging that Aoun has a Napoleonic complex. On the other hand, when Geagea began throwing a hissy fit, you didn’t see that as “embarrassing” or demonstrative of a “napoleonic” complex. Rather, you gave it a more rational explanation, in that Geagea was trying to save a little face.

Again, I’m not trying to defend Aoun or to attack your position, but I believe you have specific biases, specifically with respect to Aoun, for whom you have previously declared you have “extreme distaste.” In any regard, I do believe the whole process is a farce and I stick to my position that unless the entire Lebanese system is changed, we can expect to witness recurring political stalemates and conflicts on the ground.

What do you want from me? If it makes you feel any better, I can’t stand Geagea either. I can count the politicians I respect on one hand. Aoun gets more tongue-lashings from me (and who am I anyway, and who cares what I think?) because he could have been Lebanon’s Obama (as IDAF and I agreed, when we were having coffee last week).